In the past, a great deal of work has been devoted to the development of an effective vessel for the household separation of immisable liquids which are usually found mixed together, such as fat and gravy or cream and milk.
One such device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,121,993 to Eichler. In accordance with the construction disclosed there, a vessel is provided with a spout which is fed by an elongated conduit which extends to the bottom of the vessel. The elongated conduit communicates with the inside of the vessel only through its lowermost extremity. Accordingly, only the liquid at the bottom of the vessel may enter the conduit and exit through the spout.
In use, the heavier liquid, such as the milk in a milk and cream mixture, settles to the bottom of the vessel. When the vessel is tilted the heavier milk exits through the spout until most of the milk is exhausted from the vessel and mostly cream remains. Likewise, if a mixture of gravy and fat is put in the vessel, the gravy may be poured out, leaving most of the fat behind.
Still another device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,583,335 to Jepson. This device is similar to the one disclosed by Eichler in both configuration and operation. Jepson's device also includes sidewalls which extend above the main body portion of the vessel adjacent to the spout in order to prevent any spilling of the liquid in the vessel when the vessel is tilted to the pouring position.
However, both of these devices suffer from a number of problems. For example, cleaning of the spout which feeds the conduit is difficult without a special implement, such as a slender bottle brush. Likewise, because of the shape of the vessels, both of these vessels are rather expensive to manufacture. In accordance with the present invention these and other disadvantages of the prior art are eliminated.